Before the race had even begun, there was a feeling between the runner and his coach that it could be a magic day at the Woods Trail Run 5K race in Thetford, Vt.

The annual race usually comes on the heels of wet weather in late September, which results in a damp, mucky trail. On this day, it was a bit cool, but the course was rather dry overall.

"It could be a record-setting situation," Fairfield Prep coach Bob Ford Jr. mentioned to his top runner Christian (Chris) Alvarado prior to the start.

When the race was off, Ford made his way to a stretch on the trail, around the two-mile mark, where spectators often stand on the path until the first groups of runners come through.

To no one's surprise, Alvarado was leading the pack when someone spotted the first runner approaching.

"It was Christian and then nobody and nobody and nobody," said Ford, noting that fans started to file back onto the trail because there was such a gap in time. "There was a 40-second gap."

When the Prep senior reached the end of the line, the pack was still far behind and the course record was long gone. Alvarado shattered it, winning in a time of 16:04.

"It was a good start," Alvarado said. "It was a course record, I was happy about that."

There has not been much that has brought Alvarado down this fall, starting with an impressive start to his final cross country season at Prep coupled with the ever-important decision of finding the right college.

Alvarado achieved the second part last week when he settled on Georgetown, which edged Wisconsin and Virginia for one of the top high school runners in New England.

"I wanted to choose a school by October," he said. "It takes a ton of stress off my mind. Now I can just do well in school and in running."

Alvarado seemed to have no problem focusing on running a few weeks ago in Vermont and now heads into cross country's postseason, which starts with Thursday's Southern Connecticut Conference race at Hammonasset State Park in Madison.

Four years ago, Alvarado might have hoped Georgetown, Wisconsin and Virginia would come calling offering a scholarship for basketball. After competing on the cross country team for the first time, he had tried out for the freshmen basketball team at Prep, but ended up being the last player cut.

"I'm still convinced (Coach Ford) told my freshman coach to cut me from the basketball team," said Alvarado, with a slight laugh. "At the time, I didn't think so, but looking back, it might have been the best thing to happen to me."

Ford did not mention any role in keeping Alvarado in running shoes, but did notice his competitive streak early. Alvarado was not even Prep's top freshman at the start of the season, but finished No. 1.

"Christian thrives on it," Ford said. "He likes to compete so hard and be in the best races."

There were plenty of talented runners to push Alvarado when he committed to running, and one who turned out to be particularly influential on his career was fellow Prep star Connor Rog.

"He definitely pushed me to get to his level," Alvarado said. "(When I first started), I never saw myself running as well as Connor did."

Rog, who is a redshirt freshman at Virginia, was the two-time Gatorade Connecticut Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year and helped Prep to a state championship in 2011.

With Rog gone last season, Alvarado assumed the role of top runner at Prep, but his junior season was interrupted with a stress fracture in his left foot. During a race in September 2012, Alvarado went down on the course and had to be driven off in a four-wheel-drive truck.

"He couldn't even walk," Ford said. "I was thinking to myself `this could be it.'"

Or maybe not.

A few days after the injury, Alvarado was already starting to show improvement, and he was back in mid-October to win the SCC title, which started a busy finish to the year with a fourth place in the State Open, 10th in the New England Regional and capped by a trip to San Diego for the national race.

"When I wasn't able to compete, I was a little disappointed and a little depressed," Alvarado said. "But (the experience) motivated me to push harder and stay healthy."

Ford attributed the remarkable recovery to Alvarado working with the right people, including his mother, who is a nutritionist, and rehabilitating properly. Often on the comeback trail, Alvarado could be found in the Fairfield University pool doing aerobics.

Alvarado had a slight setback with his leg in December, but went on to have strong indoor and outdoor track seasons. He has not missed a step this fall either, with making a few official visits to schools being the only thing that prevented him from running in more meets.

Now Alvarado is ready to chase some of Rog's accomplishments.

Ford thought he was blessed when he had a runner named Brian McGovern, who was an All-American in 2000 at Prep, but then along came Rog and now Alvarado.

"Lots of people never get the opportunity to have someone as good as Brian," the head coach said. "I've been so fortunate to have those guys and then along comes Alvarado -- oh my God!"

With the influence of Rog and his former Prep teammates along with Ford's coaching, Alvarado is looking forward to a strong finish to his high school career.

"I have state goals in mind," he said. "But right now I am trying to take it one day at a time."